Municipalities in Finland are entrusted with
- preventing social problems
- maintaining social security
- supporting people's independent living.
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Social work |
Social care staff offer guidance, advice and handle problems. They arrange support measures on individual, family and community bases. Professional social work provides
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Emergency social services |
Emergency social services in Finland are available round the clock for handling sudden and acute problems. Children urgently in need of care, problems facing young or older people or emergency help for substance abusers are typical instances where emergency social services are needed. Municipal social officials use standby plans for arrangement of rapid primary care and psychosocial support. Schools, day care centres and other such places have safety procedures in reserve and in many cases crisis plans. |
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Home services Informal care support Housing services |
Home services in Finland are provided when clients need help to cope with routine tasks at home made difficult due to illness or reduced functional capacity. Home service workers also follow up the situation of their clients and advise on service matters. Many municipalities also provide home services during evenings and weekends. Client fees vary according to the use of services. Support services are used to supplement home services, for instance to provide meals, home cleaning, bathing clients and transport. |
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Institutional care |
Institutional care in Finland operates in two forms. Short-term or periodic institutional care may supplement long-term care measures or relief of informal carers that enable clients to live and manage at home. This also helps obviate the need for permanent institutional care. Short-term institutional care can be used at regular intervals or in rotation with living at home. Long-term institutional care is given to people for whom constant care cannot be arranged at home or in service accommodation. It includes rehabilitative activity, food, medicines, cleanliness, clothing and services to promote social wellbeing. |
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Family care |
Family care is the arrangement of continual care for people outside their own homes in a private home. Finnish legislation on family care sets quality standards, such as the qualifications of carers and maximum numbers of people cared for. The most common form of family care is that provided as foster care under child welfare arrangements. Family care may also be provided for children and adults with disabilities and people in mental health rehabilitation. Municipal child welfare services and services for older people approve family care homes, make care orders and locate clients in homes. |
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Rehabilitation |
Rehabilitative approaches are used in all social services. Additional rehabilitation services are procured by municipalities from other sources, if they cannot be provided by social services. When people experience sickness, disability or diminished functionality rehabilitation is used to increase
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Services for children and families |
Municipalities provide day care, child welfare, adoption counselling, child rearing and family counselling, family conciliation, establishment of paternity, and child custody and rights of access. |
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Services for older people |
Include home and support services, informal care support and institutional care. Municipalities use service needs assessments to allocate services. |
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Disability services |
People with disabilities use regular social services and special services. The latter include services for housing assistive devices, transport and interpretation. Allocated on basis of individual service plans. |
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Substance abuse work and services |
Preventive work is carried out to promote drug-free lifestyles and awareness raising. Services provide support, help, treatment and rehabilitation for problem users and their families. Services include outpatient care, institutional care, rehabilitation and housing and support services. |
